At month-end August, imported lead concentrate TCs showed another downward trend, with multiple traders suspending quotations due to tight supply, while port arrival expectations for forward lead ore shipments also declined. Market quotations revealed that, compared to the "sky-high asking prices" of imported ores, domestic lead concentrate TCs adjusted more steadily. On one hand, under long-term fixed cooperation models between medium-to-large-scale lead-zinc mines and smelters or traders in China, some smelters locked in forward contracts early, resulting in lead concentrate TCs falling far less than bid prices in spot market tenders. On the other hand, certain smelters supplemented lead concentrates with other lead-bearing materials, enabling them to offer relatively higher lead concentrate TC quotations. A few smelters in Henan and Inner Mongolia reported that small volumes of pure lead ore with low metal content could still be negotiated at 500-600 yuan/mt in metal content, while mainstream silver-lead ores with medium-to-low metal content maintained TCs of 400-500 yuan/mt. Meanwhile, some smelters in Yunnan and Hunan often quoted lower lead concentrate TCs than those in north China to sustain stable production.
